The Singhania house, an imperial haveli allegedly situated in Udaipur, is bid a tearful farewell after the jewellery tycoon protagonist of the daily soap Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai loses crores in the European market crash. The kitchen stove, where women behind zareeand-gota pallus plot against one another, has to be relocated in a humble fourbedroom bungalow in a plebeian suburb at the same time as EU leaders convene in Brussels. One channel away, on Parvarrish Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi, a middle-class protagonist loses his job in the economic downturn and continues to pretend to go to work to shield his children from the trauma of financial crisis. His wife, who for the first 30 episodes is only seen hyperventilating over her child's grades, turns into an amicable Amway saleswoman to aid the household expenses. Half an hour later, on Kya Hua Tera Vaada, another middle-class protagonist is abruptly fired by his boss and forced to work for his ex-flame.